Dying Technology: Power cords

We’re not talking about heavy metal. Those power chords will never die; you just won’t need to plug that Marshall double stack amp into the wall. "We say anything with a cord or a battery is a candidate for being replaced," says Eric Giler, chief executive of WiTricity, a 2007 MIT spinoff on the cutting edge of wireless charging. "Power is the last thing to go wireless." Wireless chargers are already on the market, and the possibility of charging devices in the same way wireless Internet works in a home is not far off. WiTricity recently announced a partnership with an auto-parts maker to produce a cordless charging mat for electric cars. "It’s possible that as electric vehicles come into the mainstream, almost immediately, you won’t have to plug them in," Giler says. He reckons that's only "a year to three years" off.